FIDELITY Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s most capitalised financial institutions, says it intends to intensify support for Micro and Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through initiatives geared towards raising their level of competitiveness in a challenging business environment. This year, the bank hopes to increase its loan book by aggressively lending to MSMEs which have been touted to be the engine of growth for the economy.
Speaking at the Fidelity SME Forum, a weekly radio talk show programme on Inspiration FM. Radio Lagos, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc., Nnamdi Okonkwo, disclosed that the bank currently boasts of a 50 percent SME loan to deposit ratio, which is an indication that it remains highly committed to supporting MSMEs in Nigeria, particularly in the area of access to finance. He explained that Fidelity Bank’s SME deposit liability which is in excess of N120 billion and loans in excess of N60 billion are clear testaments to the bank’s commitment to the sector.
Alluding to Fidelity Bank’s plan to step up the tempo of engagement with MSMEs amid the nation’s harsh economic conditions, Okonkwo noted that the bank’s SME customer base is in excess of 600,000 and are evenly spread across Nigeria’s geographical regions. He pointed out that the bank has made significant headway in the disbursement of the Central Bank’s MSME Development Fund as 70 customers have already accessed requisite credit to expand their business. “We are currently one of the top two (2) leading banks in the disbursement of the Fund”, he added. According to him, Fidelity focuses more on productive segments of the economy where margins are not robust. This move, he added helps MSMEs in these industry to vertically optimise the performance of their respective businesses.
“The structure and pricing of the funds provide us the window to finance SME related transactions, which otherwise would have been expensive to finance from our balance sheet for the SMEs”, he explained. Propelled by its one-on-one business advisory services and other capacity building initiatives, Okonkwo, said the lender has one of the strongest SME franchise in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy by GDP.
“We just finished one in Ibadan December 2015 where we had most of the key MSMEs in the South West in attendance. “Before that, we had done one in Enugu for the South East SMEs. By the end of the month, we are heading to Kano for the North West SME Conference”, the Fidelity boss said. With the prevailing economic condition characterized by falling oil prices, revenue drought and the resultant capital controls of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Fidelity boss urged SMEs to raise their management game in order to take full advantage of the myriad opportunities which the downturn offers. “We see a lot of growth opportunities in Manufacturing, Services and Agric. Value-chain, especially in the segments that are directly related to import substitution and export activities”, he further explained.